1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a relay having at least one pair of contacts as well as terminal elements for a load circuit wherein at least one of the terminal elements is coupled parallel with a terminal plate having a flat connection segment in order to produce an electrical connection having a contact element in the interior of the relay.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A relay of the general type described above is known, for example, from German Patent No. DE 37 08 723 A1. Such relays are typically used in automotive engineering, but they are also employed in a variety of other applications. In automobiles, it is standard practice to have the current circuits fused in a fuse box and then conducted to their respective loads via relays or switches. However, new designs, particularly those of bus systems, require a self-fused switch. This means that a peripherally-arranged relay must be fused against overload at its immediate location of use. Thus, it is also generally known to attach a fuse element directly to a relay as described, for example, in German Patent No. DE 32 09 915 A1. However, this known construction requires a special design of the relay itself. Moreover, in terms of space, this construction is fairly costly.